By Wayne Horne
Every Year the City of Joliet publishes a report known as the Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (CAFR). The report is for the year ending December 31, 2021 and was placed on the record by unanimous vote of the City Council at the September 6 council meeting as part of the consent agenda. There was no discussion of the report but as a matter of record it provides a financial lookback at how much money the City spent and received over the previous year.
The largest percentage of city money is spent for benefits and wages paid to city employees. The city employed over 750 personnel in 2021. More than 500 of the city’s employees earned over $100,000 in 2021. The top wage earner, Thomas Banas, was paid $249,716.26 in 2021 according to the Employee Compensation Report on the City’s website. The top three wage earners made over $200,000. City Manager, James Caparelli, came in at number 10 with a salary of $185,716 and number 11 is Christopher D’Arcy, police officer, earned $182,164.50. The wages do not include any employee benefits such as health and life insurance. Joliet city employees are among the highest paid municipal workers in the State of Illinois.
The CAFR is dull reading but it does show how the city spends its revenue and where it comes from. If you are interested, it’s on the City of Joliet website. The information can be found on the website by looking under the heading of Government, then go to Open Government Transparency, then Budgets and Financial Information, then Finance. A whole world of financial info is available. Treat it like a treasure hunt. Have fun.
One last thing… the fall season officially starts on Thursday, September 22 at 8:03 PM CDT. Besides the calendar change, other changes also occur about this time of year. One change is a rule of fashion, which states that one does not wear white after Labor Day. In case you are wondering why, there is the practical reason that lighter colors, including white, are cooler in the summer months. Another reason, sometimes given from the past, was for wealth identification. Apparently, sometime in the 1930’s it became a way for the wealthy class to distinguish themselves from others. I doubt there is much stock in either idea today.
Another change has to do with sports. Football becomes the dominant spectator sport in the Fall, according to those who pay attention to such things. That means Major League Baseball is winding down in preparation for playoffs and the World Series. The series is scheduled to be played between October 28 and November 5, if all seven games are played. Minor league baseball is over after Labor Day. The Joliet Slammers season ended Labor Day in fourth place out of eight teams in the West Division of the Frontier League. Fan attendance at Duly Field (Joliet’s baseball stadium) averaged just under 2,700 per Frontier League statistics. By comparison, the second place Schaumburg Boomers averaged more than 4,000 fans in home game attendance.
Over the years, attendance at major league baseball stadiums has consistently declined. Maybe the Joliet stadium could be converted to football. Another option might be to sell it to the users of the stadium. Maybe the Slammers or possibly St. Francis University would be interested. On the other hand, Duly Field is a great location for a convention center given all the interest (?) in downtown Joliet.
Stay tuned…
Contact Wayne at www.wayneswords@thetimesweekly.com
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